How to Write Your First Book

Before you have a name established for yourself in the world of writing or publishing, how can you begin to write your first novel intelligently, and with a plan in mind? I know from experience that this can be very difficult, and the journey you are about to embark on will inevitably have you feeling in over your head at points. Here are a few tips to get you started and to make you feel more comfortable with the writing and publishing process.

1) Write.
This will seem obvious, and of course necessary. You NEED to write, though, so why not do it correctly? On your first time through the novel, write without limits. Don’t go back and erase things, don’t even think ahead if you don’t want to. Just sit down and write. If you have an idea to begin with, great. If not, great. Sit down in a quiet room and write until you come up with something you want to work with. Expand on the idea while you’re not writing and come back to your desk when you feel like you have something to add. When you finish your first draft, take a deep breath and commend yourself. You likely just wrote a long, time-consuming work. But you’re only getting started…

2) Revise
Now it’s time to go back into your work and fine tune. Change things as often as you see necessary. Make things connect. This will be easy because you already know what is going to happen. In the first draft, you should have written from your heart. Now use your head and make the novel worth something to other people, be they literary critics or the people from your book club. Give the book value that other people can respect and acknowledge. If you need to revise more than once, I advise doing so. If you feel comfortable with the novel after one revision, stop…then revise it again. I suggest revising your work at LEAST two times, more if necessary.

3) Edit
This step will inherently be controversial. Many people will tell you that you need to spend money on a professional editor. Others will tell you you can edit yourself. Both are wrong. One of the best economical things about writing is that it takes so little money to start. If you have the money to hire an editor and you feel like it will help you, I certainly encourage you to start searching for one, as it will definitely help. But if you don’t have the money or interest to invest it right away, you can simply give your manuscript to a close friend, professor, or family member. If you feel uncomfortable doing this, copyright your work! It costs about $30 to copyright a work online through ECO (Electronic Copyright Office through www.copyright.gov). The reason an outside view is good for your book is that it will offer insight into the fluidity of the work. You know evertthing about the novel, but someone else may read it and not understand something or catch a mistake. I suggest finding someone to edit who has a good understanding of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, etc.

4) Publish
Now that you have a novel that has been written, revised, revised, and edited, you are ready to begin publishing your work. This is where you have many different routes to take. If you choose to publish your book electronically, it can be done for FREE with many companies. For example, it is free to publish an e-book with Barnes & Noble. If, however, you want to publish your book with a publishing company and get it out there in print, you have a lot more work to do. Your best bet is to find a company that accepts unsolicited manuscripts, which, frankly, will be few and far between. Even smaller publishing companies are bombarded with submissions from new authors. For this reason, publishing an electronic copy may be the best route to take. If you have the money to invest, you may want to hire an agent who will promote your book to a publishing company to get your foot in the door. This step is entirely up to you.

Writing and publishing a book is not a task that will take you a week, a month, or even four months. Just the writing and revising process should take several months, and the publishing could take years. In the end, the experience is definitely worth the time and effort, and will give you bragging rights to your friends! Hopefully these tips will help you write and publish your first novel, and I wish you luck in doing so.


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